somewhere in between (together)
by stilinskisbanshee
Summary: when clarke and raven's roommate leaves the two of them to pay a three-bedroom rent on student income, they offer bellamy her room out of convenience. then, after clarke's girlfriend leaves for a semester abroad she starts to warm to her new bartender-turned-roommate, going to him whenever she had a problem. slowly but surely, he doesn't seem like that much of a dick anymore.
1. Chapter 1

**welcome to my new fic. i'm trying this new multimedia type thing with it, so i've created a tumblr page dedicated to this fic, just type ' .com' into the searchbar and it should come up. it just has like aesthetic posts and playlists and stuff if anyone's interested and i'm just gonna experiment with this and see how it all goes. hope you enjoy what i've posted so far, and stick with me as a figure this all out.**

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 _"we're breaking and rebuilding and we're growing, always guessin'_ _never knowing. it's shocking but we're nothing._ _we're just moments. we're clever but we're clueless._ _we're just human; amusing and confusing._ _but the truth is: all we've got is questions, we'll never know."_ \- never know, jack johnson

 **chapter one.**

The crisp morning sunlight spills into the dark, windowless staircase as Clarke finally manages to shove the heavy reinforced-steel door to her apartment building open. Third time lucky, she thinks as she barges the door shut behind her. Her head starts with a dull throb as she ascends the narrow staircase to her third floor apartment, she starts to fully realise the effects of her hangover now that she's almost home. Outside her apartment door it takes her three more tries to get her key into the lock, fingers still numb with that 'cusp-of-fall' kind of morning air.

"Goooood morning, sunshine! See you're up bright and early," a smug voice calls out just as Clarke manages to close the door and toss her keys into the bowl. She doesn't even need to look over to know it's Bellamy.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Clarke groans, as she stumbles out of her heels and over to the kitchen to put on some coffee.

"Meh, the usual. Worked late downstairs, rain made it next to impossible to get a cab home, Raven let me in and I crashed on the couch. However, had I known you would be... otherwise engaged for so long, I would've taken your bed." She turns to glare just in time to catch the tail end of his smirk as he stretches and sprawls himself even further across her couch with _her_ blanket draped over his midriff. Clarke's eyes slit even further. She knows he knows it's her blanket because last time he stayed over, he used the same blanket and it started another classic Blake-Griffin argument that ended up with her kicking him out of the apartment. His smirk only intensifies as he watches her realising he used it on purpose. Prick.

"Don't make me even more nauseous than I already am," she responds, undoing the buttons of her coat.

"So, how was it? Did the two of you manage to get through every single one of your vows of undying devotion to each other in one night? Did you recite sonnets to each other and pledge your everlasting and eternal love with a blood oath before she left this morning? I'm dying to know," he teases and sits up, half his hair flat against his head where he slept on it last night.

"Lexa's only going to study abroad for a semester not shipping off on a fucking crusade, drama queen."

"Really? Could have fooled me. The way you two were going on about it last night it sounded like-"

"Stop. Stop whatever mildly-witty pseudo-intellectual metaphor I'm sure you've got lined up right there. I need to piss, I don't have time to put up with your bullshit right now," Clarke snipes a she pads over to the bathroom and slams the door. Five seconds later Bellamy hears a yelp and the door whips open again.

"Jasper! How many times have I told you, stop fucking falling asleep in _my_ fucking bathtub when you get back from the bar! This is the second time this week, it's getting ridiculous!"

"Ooh yeah, that might be on me," Bellamy winces. "He said he needed some toothpaste so I let him in and then he just never left the bathroom and I guess I forgot about him. Huh."

Clarke opens her mouth, no doubt to berate him further but Raven interrupts. Poking her head out of her door, her eyes squint as she groans. "What the fuck is going on out here?"

"Jasper fell asleep in your tub again," Bellamy replies passively.

"Seriously? That's it? What fucking time is it?" Murphy asks, pushing Raven's bedroom door wide open and stalking over to the kitchen. Clarke gives Raven a semi-glare to which Raven responds with a shrug.

"It's eight-thirty," Monty announces from the armchair next to the couch. The revelation is met with a chorus of groans.

"Who the fuck let you in?" Clarke asks, unzipping her dress and heading for her room.

"No-one. Spare key, remember?" Monty responds, wiggling it around in his hand. Clarke makes a frustrated groan and pushes her bedroom door closed.

"Oh, well. You were supposed to give that back, remember?" Raven replies with about as much sass as a hungover 21-year old can muster at the crack of dawn on a sunday morning. She puts her palm out and he reluctantly drop the key inside.

"Eight-thirty? Really, Clarke? You gotta wake up the whole household at eight-thirty? On a sunday? Even old ladies going to church don't wake up this early today," Jasper responds, shoving Bellamy's legs over to make room for himself on the couch.

"Wouldn't have had to if you hadn't been staring at me whilst I was getting ready to piss, Jasper!" Clarke shouts from her room. Jasper shrugs as she emerges in sweats and gives him a glare as she heads back over to the bathroom and shuts the door with a poignant slam.

"Okay, well. Since it's clear we aren't getting any more sleep today. Coffee?" Raven asks. A chorus of groans respond and she has Murphy hand out mugs. Clarke re-emerges from the bathroom, now with a good 90% of last night's make-up off, and heads toward the kitchen. She slams the cupboards causing everyone to wince, again, and spins around. "Okay, last time I checked we had a total of six mugs, and three people living here- well, that's down to two now that Harper's moved out. Now, I'm no math expert like half the people in this room but it just doesn't seem to work out that there's only glasses left in the cupboard and that means I don't get coffee when I'm the one that started making it. Nope, don't think so. Not this morning. Hand it over, Blake."

"Wh- Murphy doesn't live here either. Neither do Monty and Jasper. Take their mugs," Bellamy grumbles. Jasper hugs the novelty 'Hard Rock Cafe: Jamaica' mug closer to his chest and gives Bellamy a protective glare.

"Jasper and Monty are honorary roommates, they practically spend more time in our apartment than they do their own and _Murphy_ wasn't acting like a dick this morning when I got home heartbroken and hungover, mocking my misery while he lay there, draped across my couch like fucking Rose from Titanic."

"Rose from Titanic? Are you sure that's the reference you want to go with?"

"Uh oh, here we go again," Monty mutters, curling up further into the armchair.

"It's a fucking mug. Do you realise how childish this is? Drink your coffee out of a bowl, or a measuring cup or even a fucking shot glass. Or better yet, get off my couch and drink _your own_ coffee in _your own_ mug in _your own_ fucking house," Clarke scowled, holding her arm out impatiently.

"Jesus christ," Bellamy murmurs as he hands it over and Clarke flops down onto the rug.

"Hey, yeah I forgot about that. Lexa left this morning, didn't she. How do you feel?" Raven asks, as Clarke pours herself some coffee from the pot being passed around.

"Like I wanna cry and listen to sad Taylor Swift songs for the next four months 'til she gets back."

"Taylor Swift? Really?" Bellamy smirks and Clarke flips him off.

His smirk turns to a scowl when she passes him the coffee pot and he has to pass it right on again to Jasper because he's now receptacle-less.

"Right, okay. And you're still cool with... what we talked about last night right?" Raven asks tentatively. Clarke vaguely remembers Raven bringing up some proposition to her but she waved it off and said it was a good idea so it can't be too damaging.

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be," Clarke responds oblivious.

Raven shrugs, "No reason. So... did you guys decide what you're gonna do while she's gone?"

"Yeah, we're gonna stay together. Y'know, try the whole 'long distance' thing- I mean, it's only four months right?" Clarke sighs and takes a sip of her coffee.

"Are you sure? Because like I said, last night yo-"

"Okay, no. I can't hear any more from you this early with this kind of pain in my head and this little coffee. Does anyone have any Advil?"

"I'm on it," Bellamy replies, tossing Clarke's blanket into Jasper's lap and wandering over to the kitchen.

"You know where the Advil is? Even I don't know where the Advil is and I'm one of the two people present that actually live here," Clarke asks, bemused.

Jasper chuckles, "Yeah, Bell. You crash here so often you might as well start paying rent." Raven perks up.

"Jasper, this is the second time this week you've fallen asleep in their tub. I hardly think you can be cracking jokes like that," Murphy snarks, rolling his eyes.

"You're one to talk Murphy, half your fucking closet is moved into your 'good friend' Raven's room," Jasper clumsily retorts. Murphy opens his mouth to respond, but Raven rests a hand on his shoulder to calm him, and he resigns himself to sulking into his mug instead.

Raven's eyes light up, pupils set on Clarke. "Actually," she starts, turning to Bellamy, and Clarke groans because she suddenly realises where this is all headed.

Now she remembers that 'little proposition' Raven mentioned last night. Before the drunken rendition of 'Africa', but just after her terribly high pitched rework of 'September', Raven had 'oh-so-casually' brought up the notion of offering Harper's spare room to Bellamy... And, since it was Lexa's last night in New York and Clarke couldn't think about anything else but memorising every shade of green in Lexa's eyes so she could paint them later, she'd absently told Raven it 'sounded like a great idea'.

Basically, she'd just agreed to live with someone she'd not-so playfully nicknamed 'the devil incarnate'. Brilliant.

Clarke glares over at Raven, but Raven just gives Clarke a smile and continues. "Since Harper moved out, there's a spare room available. And I _really_ don't think Clarke and I can afford to split the rent by two for another month..."

"So, what are you saying?" Bellamy asks slowly, tracking back into the living room Advil in hand. Raven gives Clarke a look which tells her she has to be the one to ask, so Clarke takes a deep breath and pinches her nose before she responds. She exhales as Bellamy passes her the Advil and sits back down on the couch.

"Well, what Raven's saying is... you're basically here every time you have to work late anyway and y'know there's a spare room just five metres away from our sofa that you seem to love so much, so... it would seem logical and reasonable enough, for you to take the spare room and a share of the rent," Clarke forces out, almost pained. She knows Raven's right, they only managed the last few months alone because it was summer and they had full-time jobs but school's starting again now and they're back to part time. Even with savings they couldn't last much longer with just the two of them. But just because it makes sense doesn't mean she has to like it.

Bellamy smirks and sits back, draping his arm lazily across the back of the sofa. "And you're okay with this?" he asks tauntingly.

Clarke sucks in a breath and turns to look at Raven, who's mouthing 'yes' as Jasper enthusiastically nods his head up and down beside Bellamy. "Couldn't be more thrilled," she manages through gritted teeth and a frosty smile.

"Well, it makes sense," Bellamy says, pretending to mull it over in his head, "of course, I'd have to leave Miller on his own but I heard Luna's looking for a better place than the studio she has at the moment so I could set that up... And I'd save a shitload on travel costs... This place _is_ around 20 minutes closer to my lectures than mine... And it's obviously right above my workplace… And if Clarke's _really_ okay with it..."

"Stop dragging this out longer than it needs to be, are you in or are you out? Your choice." Clarke snipes, and he chuckles at her lack of patience.

Bellamy pauses a moment (because he's that much of a fucking drama queen). Jasper quietly chants 'neighbour, neighbour' from next to him on the couch, Raven clasps her hands together in anticipation, Murphy's still sulking and Monty doesn't even bother to look up from his phone. He takes one last look at Clarke's even stare before responding. "Sure, why not."

Jasper and Monty high-five as Raven clasps her hands in relief and Murphy even perks up a little. Clarke doesn't even blink.

"So," Bellamy asks, turning his head toward Raven in a business-like fashion. "When can I move in?"

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 **aaand, that's it for the first short little snippet of this story. hope you enjoy what i've posted so far, and stick with me as a figure this all out. let me know what you think of the multi-media type thing? is it working? is it a big fail? i have no clue, and stay tuned for the first real chapter! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**another chapter is up. it's ' .com' for the multimedia posts i'm going to be doing for this fic. i'm feeling it being a little skam-esque so there will be instagram posts & like little text threads and stuff I guess so go over there for more content!**

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 **chapter two.**

Two weekends later, it was the Sunday before their first semester of junior year began and while most would use that time to check over class schedules and reminisce the past two years over drinks at their local bar, Bellamy (with reluctant help from his new roommates) spent the day transporting boxes from his old apartment into the new one with Raven and Clarke.

On around the third trip between the two and the millionth round of everyone's favourite moving game 'toss or keep' Raven stumbles upon something she probably wishes she hadn't. Whilst rifling through Bellamy's incredibly worn and annoyingly extensive collection of Greek literature she accidentally knocks a very heavy copy of 'The Iliad' from one of the upper bookshelves. The book hits her elbow on the way down and falls open, a strip of paper fluttering out. Raven picks up the book, Clarke the paper. There's an inscription on the front page, _'You said your mom used to read this to you. I thought you'd like it. -Gina'._

"Who's Gina?" Raven asks and Bellamy's head snaps up from his seat on the edge of his bed. He's dumbfounded, they've never seen him actually speechless before. Clarke decides to take full advantage.

"I'm guessing _that_ Gina is most likely the same Gina that signed the back of this," Clarke smirks, holding up the strip of card. It's not just card at all, but rather a strip of photos of Bellamy and a girl with curly hair pulling various poses with hideous wigs and fake sunglasses in some sort of photo booth. "Who is she, old flame?"

Bellamy sees the strip in her hands and reaches for it, but Clarke moves it away just in time.

"Is this doctored, Blake?" she grins cruelly, and Raven rolls her eyes. Here we fucking go.

Bellamy's eyes slit. "Fuck off, Clarke. Give it back."

" _'Back_ '? May I remind you, I found this on the floor of a room that isn't even yours anymore. I didn't pry it from your hands. Technically, this isn't even yours anymore, it's mine," she teases.

Bellamy stands up, she steps back.

"That isn't even close to how property law works Clarke, just give him the fucking pictures," Raven sighs, placing the book into the box with all the other big heavy nondescript books to drag over to their apartment after this.

"I just can't believe people still actually do the whole photo booth thing, so retro. Who _is_ this girl?"

"Clarke, drop it," he says in a low, almost pleading voice. He looks like he's about to scream or cry or both and this is maybe the first time she's seen him without his usual edge of arrogance. It's intriguing. She pushes further.

"No really, I'm curious. She must be a pretty special girl for you to have hopped in a time machine and gone back to the fucking '90s for. That is when photo booths were cool, isn't it?" Clarke's winding him up more than Raven thinks he can handle. Bellamy inches closer and Clarke's smirk falters a little.

"Clarke, come on. Give him a break, I'm too tired to diffuse this and do two more moving trips back and forth as well," Raven pleads.

Clarke lets out a sigh, "Fine, whatever. What'll it be, Toss or keep Blake?"

Bellamy looks at the strip for the first time, there's a pause. His mouth sets in a firm line. "Toss, it's just a dumb bookmark anyway."

He sits back down and Raven picks up the next stupid Greek-related relic to toss or keep, but the tension doesn't leave the room.

Clarke pockets the pictures anyway. He might be a certified demon of 'Paradise Lost' proportions but this means something to him, she wishes she someone had done this for her after Wells. He'll thank her later. Or more likely he'll scream at her for keeping it and then she'll scream back about how he should be saying thank you, slamming doors will be involved, as will irate phone calls and eventually the next day he'll come around and make her breakfast or something by way of an apology. My, what a functional year of cohabitation they had ahead of them.

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"Okay so. House rules," Clarke starts, pulling out a pen and paper as soon as they finally said goodbye to the old apartment and dropped the last boxes in Bellamy's new room.

"You're kidding me," Bellamy groans, setting it down with a thud right in the centre.

"Really Clarke?" Raven chuckles in disbelief, curled up on the couch.

"No I'm not and yes, really," she responds in a businesslike manner, although it's hard to look _too_ serious while you're fishing gel pens out of your purse.

"Why? Why the gel pens?" Bellamy asks, as he walks over to flop on the couch beside Raven.

"Well, if it's going on the wall it has to look presentable," Clarke responds as if it were obvious.

"The wall, Clarke? Do you not think this is a little extreme?" Raven asks rolling her eyes. Bellamy scoffs and leans back into the couch.

"Rule number one," Clarke begins, acting as if the other two hadn't said anything at all, "No stealing other people's labelled food from the communal fridge."/

Bellamy groans. "Come on Clarke, who do you think I am?"

"What about that time when you stayed over and used all my milk on your cereal the next morning?"

"Tha- That was a misunderstanding. Besides, I came up here that night and left a carton on your doorstep."

"Yeah, like sixteen hours too late!"

Bellamy rolls his eyes, yet again. "Whatever."

"Rule number two. Knock on doors before you enter, especially the bathroom and bedrooms."

"So that'll be all the doors in the apartment then," he quips.

She glares.

"Clarke, come on. He's not a caveman," Raven tries.

"No, but just- If it's in writing and he's been told beforehand it makes it extra bad to do these things. He has no excuses," Clarke responds, picking up the next gel pen for the next rule. Bellamy lifts his hands in disbelief.

"Three, chores are on a rota. Which I kindly printed out here," Clarke says, pulling a laminated timetable from inside her notebook. Raven chuckles in dismay and Bellamy flops his head back onto the couch with disbelieving laughter.

"Four, be considerate with the amount of time you take in the bathroom. There's three people to one bathroom here. I'm sure we'll make some form of routine once classes start tomorrow but for now, consideration is key."

"Ooh, she whipped out a maxim," Bellamy calls out and Raven whacks him on the arm playfully so Clarke doesn't do it for real.

"Five, noise levels should be low… unless we're having a pregame. On weeknights headphones would be preferable and the TV no higher than 15," Clarke's eyes flick up, waiting for resistance, but Raven and Bellamy have fallen silent. There's no point in fighting anymore.

"Okay… and finally. Rule number six. I'm big on saving that thing that keeps us alive, y'know the environment. So, any recyclables in the recycling bin, lights off when you leave a room. That sort of thing." Clarke babbles, scrolling down the last of the rules in her annoyingly neat handwriting.

She chucks the pad on the table and Bellamy takes in a breath, no doubt to make a shitty remark when the door to the apartment bursts open. "Knock, knock!" Jasper sing-songs, strolling into the apartment. Monty trails behind, holding a suspicious-looking tray with a white cloth draped over it in his hands.

"Jasper, there is literally a door right there. You're the one with the free hands, you could have just actually fucking knocked," Monty says, kicking the door shut behind them. Jasper rolls his eyes, oblivious.

"Ah, Jasper! That reminds me, bonus rule!" Clarke announces, picking up the notepad again.

"Brilliant. Because the first six were just bundles of fun!" Bellamy huffs. Clarke flips him off.

"Wait, what the fuck is this?" Jasper asks, leading Monty over to dump the tray on the coffee table with an unceremonious thud.

"Clarke seems to think I'm some lawless brute from the fucking viking era that's gonna come in here and fuck up her sickeningly pristine puritan household, so she's making a list of house rules to teach me proper roommate etiquette," Bellamy explains.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, back to the bonus rule," Clarke continues, "Rule number seven. No. Sleeping. In my bathtub."

"Wha- Since when was that a thing?" Jasper grumbles, flopping down onto the rug.

"Jasper, most people don't need it in writing to know that it's inappropriate to pass out in their best friends-slash-neighbors' tub every other night. They just don't do it," Raven teases and Monty chuckles, consoling him with a gentle pat on the back.

"Anyways… What's up with the tray?" Bellamy asks.

"Judging by the smell, I'm surprised you even have to ask," Clarke says, flapping her hand in front of her face.

Monty's smile widens. "We made brownies!" he grins, whipping the cloth off the tray. "With a twist," Jasper adds, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You guys seriously need to stop calling them that. They're just fucking pot brownies. Everybody knows what the twist is. They're brownies, it's obvious. If you showed me some cupcakes 'with a twist', maybe I'd hazard a guess but there's no imagination needed for brownies with a twist. Come on," Raven snarks.

"Well excuse me for trying to mix it up a bit. Jesus, I'm getting attacked from all sides today. I'm like fucking Germany at the beginning of World War One," Jasper huffs, crossing his arms and going back to sulking. "Fine, whatever. Bellamy, here's your boring housewarming basic pot brownies. Dig in."

Monty turns to Raven, "So I guess your little outburst means you won't be wanting any then."

"Well, I mean I didn't say that…" She grins, and whilst this isn't your regular 'hi, welcome to the neighborhood we must get acquainted via this casserole I brought over' type scenario, they do it their way.

Well, until Bellamy decides to try and coup Clarke by ripping up her rules and she catches him and sends him to bed which pretty much packs up the party and sends everyone home. Except Jasper who sleeps in the tub again. This time it's Bellamy giving him shit for it the next morning instead. He's officially moved in.

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Clarke arrives at her Ancient Art lecture at 10:30, exactly thirty whole minutes before the lecture is set to begin as she had done for all her lectures that week because, well, it's Clarke. She lays out her various writing equipment and boots up her laptop as various others filter in. She sees a Facebook notification pop up and with a groan reluctantly accepts the invitation to Jasper and Monty's bands' first gig of the year next week at the bar. She responds to various E-mails, and scans through the preliminary reading again. Five minutes before the lecture begins, she's feeling settled and ready. Then something terrible happens.

"What's up, Princess?" an antagonising voice says as it slides into the seat next to her.

She groans, and drops her head to the table before slowly turning to face Bellamy.

"Please tell me you're just here because you lost your keys or something?"

"Well, I could. But why would I tell you that just for you to find out later when I stay for the whole lecture and also show up next week I'm in this class too! Isn't that fun?!"

"No," Clarke deadpans.

"We are gonna have so much fun this semester roomie," he smirks, just as the lecturer announces himself and Clarke slides further into her seat.

She was right from the start. This semester was going to be impossible.


End file.
